At Eighteen Months Post-Launch, Impel's Trudhesa Has Struggled to Keep Up with Pfizer's Nurtec ODT and AbbVie's Ubrelvy, According to Spherix Global Insights

Use of Trudhesa as an acute migraine treatment is on par with the more-established Reyvow, though future projections have it exceeding the Eli Lilly offering.

EXTON, Pa., April 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Spherix Global Insights recently released data from their Launch Dynamix™: Trudhesa in Acute Treatment of Migraine (US) deep dive study tracking the launch of Impel's Trudhesa for the acute treatment of migraines. At eighteen months post-launch, analysis reveals that Impel's brand has made consistent launch progress, now rivaling Eli Lilly's Reyvow, which has been in the market since January 2020. Trudhesa has achieved moderate ratings for familiarity, usage, satisfaction, likelihood to recommend, and overall risk/cost-benefit ratio.

The success of Pfizer's Nurtec ODT (for acute) and, to a lesser extent, AbbVie's Ubrelvy – both of which came to market just after Reyvow – proved to be a big hurdle for Trudhesa to clear as evidenced by its slow growth in brand share. This is most apparent in the latter stages of the launch as, according to surveyed physicians, future projected uptake estimates never fully materialized. Furthermore, out-of-pocket costs, reimbursement issues and coverage have all negatively impacted Trudhesa's growth.  As one migraine specialist offers, "If their copay is not sustainable, it's not manageable, then obviously that's a barrier."

Similarly, and not surprisingly, user base and mean number of Trudhesa initiations out of the gate experienced wave over wave adoption but have, on average, remained somewhat consistent during the latter portion of launch. Patient candidacy and maximum patient share among physicians' migraine patients have also remained stagnant and substantially lower than recent competitors, but most notably trail that of Nurtec ODT.

Despite an overall recent tempering of adoption, Trudhesa is currently the only acute treatment that is administered as a nasal spray and utilizes Impel's proprietary Precision Olfactory Delivery (POD®) system. This provides near-instant relief and can last up to two days on just one dose. This is especially beneficial for patients who suffer nausea or vomiting during their migraine attacks and are unable to keep down tablets like Nurtec ODT, Ubrelvy or Reyvow.  One prescriber explains, "An ideal patient for Trudhesa would be any patient with migraines that has nausea, because that's one big thing about swallowing pills while already having nausea and medication that can potentially cause nausea as a side effect."

With Trudhesa launch tracking now complete, a complete compendium assessing the success of the Trudhesa launch is now available, analoguing Impel's brand to other relevant migraine launches. Further, Trudhesa uptake will continue to be tracked along with the broader migraine market via Spherix's RealTime Dynamix™ quarterly service. Launch tracking will shift to monitoring uptake and impact of Pfizer's recently approved Zavzpret (zavegepant) for acute treatment of migraines, which is expected to be commercially available in July 2023. As the first and only CGRP (calcitonin gene-related peptide) receptor antagonist nasal spray, Zavzpret could prove to be a direct competitor to Trudhesa. Other acute treatments currently in Phase 3 trials are Amneal's DHE Autoinjector, Axsome's AXS-07 and Satsuma's STS-101 -– all of which expect to publish interim data in the second half of 2023. Spherix will continue to follow the more established products currently available for the acute treatment of migraines.

Since 2018, Spherix Global Insights has tracked the migraine market with its Launch Dynamix™ service, while RealTime Dynamix™ covers overall in-line use, perceptions, pipeline awareness and intent, and perceptions of acute and preventive treatments. New start and switching patient segments will be explored via RealWorld Dynamix™ services, including drivers of brand choice, treatment by acute and preventive products and severity levels, and potential next switches.

About Launch Dynamix™

Launch Dynamix™ is an independent service providing monthly benchmarking of newly launched products for the first eighteen months of commercial availability, augmented by a quarterly deep dive into promotional activity, barriers to uptake, and patient types gravitating to the launch brand.

About RealTime Dynamix™

RealTime Dynamix™ is an independent service providing strategic guidance through quarterly or semiannual reports, which include market trending and a fresh infusion of event-driven and variable content with each wave. The reports provide an unbiased view of the competitive landscape within rapidly evolving specialty markets, fueled by robust HCP primary research and our in-house team of experts.

About RealWorld Dynamix™

RealWorld Dynamix™ is an independent, data-driven service unveiling real patient management patterns through rigorous analysis of large-scale patient chart audits. Insights reveal the "why" behind treatment decisions, include year over year trending to quantify key aspects of market evolution, and integrate specialists' attitudinal & demographic data to highlight differences between stated and actual treatment patterns.

About Spherix Global Insights

Spherix Global Insights is a leading provider of market research, business intelligence and advisory services to the global life sciences industry. The company's unique service offerings are powered by deep therapeutic knowledge, the Spherix Network specialty physician panel, and commercially relevant analyses to enable strategic decision-making by our valued customers.

A trusted advisor and industry thought leader, Spherix Global Insights provides specialized market expertise in six (6) focused therapeutic areas including: dermatology, gastroenterology, nephrology, neurology, rheumatology and ophthalmology.

To learn more about Spherix Global Insights, visit spherixglobalinsights.com or connect through LinkedIn and Twitter.

Spherix Global Insights Contacts

Frank Franzino, Insights Director, Neurology
[email protected]

Scott Upham, Corporate Communications
[email protected]

NOTICE: All company, brand or product names in this press release are trademarks of their respective holders. The findings and opinions expressed within are based on Spherix Global Insight's analysis and do not imply a relationship with or endorsement by any company, brand, or product aforementioned.

SOURCE Spherix Global Insights